This invention is directed to metal plated poly(aryl ether) containing articles, said poly(aryl ether) comprising a blend of a poly(aryl ether) polymer, a styrene polymer and/or acrylic copolymers and a compatibilizing amount of a polyhydroxyether.
Poly(aryl ether) polymers, particularly polysulfone, are tough, rigid, high strength thermoplastic materials which maintain their properties over a wide temperature range of from -150.degree. F. to above 300.degree. F. They have a continuous use temperature of about 300.degree. F. They are hydrolytically stable and have excellent mechanical, electrical and chemical properties which allows them to be molded into a variety of articles. Articles made from these poly(aryl ether) polymers have been plated with metals. However, the polymer most widely used for metal plating is an acrylonitrile-styrene-butadiene (ABS) resin. The disadvantage of ABS is that it has a low heat distortion temperature. Thus, ABS cannot be used for applications such as high temperature plumbingware. It has now been found that an article made from a blend of a poly(aryl ether), a styrene and/or acrylic copolymer and a compatibilizing amount of a polyhydroxyether can be used in applications such as high temperature plumbingware. This blend can also be plated on plating lines (procedures) commonly used for ABS (the standard of the plated plastics industry).